Gauntlet
by FaithinBones
Summary: Booth is sad about the outcome of his latest murder investigation. Brennan helps him get past it. (Bones 12x03)


(The New Tricks in the Old Dogs)

This story came to me while i was watching Bones episode 12x03. I hope you enjoy it.

I don't own Bones.

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She had seen it before and it always worried her. During their last investigation, amongst their various suspects they had had to deal with were senior citizens and she knew that presented a unique set of problems for her partner. If there was one thing Brennan knew and understood about her husband it was that Booth was prejudicial when it came to people over seventy years of age. He found it hard to consider them as anything, but good and kind. They were his Achilles Heel.

The situation had become more pronounced after Hank Booth had died. Hank had been more of a father than grandfather to Booth and his brother Jared after he took them away from their father. While Edwin Booth had been abusive and cruel, Hank had been kind and compassionate. Hank exuded all the qualities that Booth considered right in the world and the old man was a hero to Booth.

Because Booth had such high regard for his grandfather, whenever he came upon someone who reminded him of Hank, he connected to them almost immediately. If they had a military background then that was one more layer of trust that Booth bestowed on them whether it was earned or not.

The fact that Red Hudmore had served in the 720th Military Police Battalion during World War II caused Booth to eliminate him as a murder suspect almost immediately. Excited to find someone that had served in the same branch of the service that Hank Booth had served in, Booth had instantly gushed about 'The Soldiers of the Gauntlet'. His grandfather had served with the 720th in the fifties and the connection between the two men made Booth miss his grandfather even more than he normally did.

Brennan was wary of Booth's dismissal of any resident in the group home as being the murderer, but she let him run the investigation while she kept her mind open to the possibility that one of the seniors was indeed a murderer and not an outsider or one of the staff like Booth first believed.

Tragically, the murderer had turned out to be Red and Booth had had to accept it. The man's health being fragile, Booth had refused to place the man in handcuffs and take him immediately to the Hoover. Instead he and Brennan had patiently waited for another FBI Agent to come and stand guard outside Red's room, so they could leave. Booth planned to have Red Hudmore driven to the Hoover the next morning to be processed and booked on suspicion of murder.

Once they were done for the day, Booth and Brennan returned home, thanked Max for taking care of the kids who were in bed by then and sat on the couch in the living room drinking a glass of wine.

Quiet, Booth sat in the corner of the couch staring at the fireplace. He was still upset that Red had turned out to be the murderer and he knew it was stupid. He was well aware that anyone can murder anyone under the right circumstances, but Red had reminded him of Pops and he really missed that old man so much.

"Booth." Brennan knew that her husband was sad and she hated for him to think he was alone in his misery. "I'm sorry that the murderer turned out to be Mr. Hudmore."

Her voice broke through his dark thoughts and he forced himself to focus on her instead of his disappointment. "Yeah . . . I just thought . . . yeah."

Her hand sought out his hand and she grasped it firmly. "You miss Hank."

Booth's throat felt tight with emotion, but she deserved an answer. After he cleared his throat he gripped her hand. "Yeah I do. Red . . . Red served in the 720th Military Police Battalion. Those guys were tough. They served in three major campaigns during World War II. They were known as the Soldiers of the Gauntlet."

"Yes, I remember you telling me that." Brennan was patient. She knew he was rambling, but he was in obvious emotional pain and he needed to speak what was on his mind and he needed to do it his way.

The thought of his grandfather dying while he was in prison still upset Booth whenever he thought about it. Hank had died of a heart attack and even though Booth had tried to get permission to go to the funeral that request had been denied. Instead he'd suffered a severe beating the day his grandfather was interred in the grave next to his wife. "Pops was my hero, Bones. When he found out what Dad was doing to me and Jared, he took us away from him . . . He walked into the house . . . I don't remember why he was there, but he saw Dad beating the shit out of me and he lost it. Pops pulled Dad off of me and he hit him, just once, but that was all it took. He ordered my Dad to leave his own house and while Dad was gone, Pops packed up our clothes and toys and loaded as much of our stuff as he could into his car and . . . and we left. We never went back. It was the last time I ever say my Dad."

He felt his eyes watering, but he knew he needed to talk about it. He needed the relief. "He was retired. Pops should have been able to take it easy, but he couldn't. He had me and Jared to take care of and we . . . we were so messed up. Two boys scared shitless of everyone . . . I don't know how he did it. He had to go back to work part time to supplement his income just to take care of us. He worked while we were in school, but he was there at home after school, waiting for us with cookies and milk sometimes a homemade cake or pie. He tried to give us everything we needed, but he couldn't give us everything we wanted and that was probably a good thing."

A tear managed to escape his damp eyes and it slid down his cheek, unnoticed. "At first we were so messed up. Jared wet his bed all the time, but Pops was so patient. He knew it was just a matter of time before Jared would stop being afraid and he was right. Once we were there for a few months, Jared and me kind of relaxed. We stopped expecting to be hit or punched. . . . You get used to that after a while especially if it's all you know, the hitting I mean. We never knew when something would set my Dad off and after my Mom left it just got worse and worse. You know that scar on my right hip?"

Brennan nodded her head. "The one that Jared caused when you and he were playing with toy soldiers?"

A mirthless laugh escaped from Booth. "Yeah . . . no, that's not what really happened. My old man did that to me. I was hurt bad enough he had to take me to the hospital for stitches. He told me I had to tell them Jared did it while we were playing and I went along with it. I told that story so many times, I even began to believe it for a while."

"Oh Booth, I'm sorry." Brennan was well aware of the numerous scars on Booth's body, some of them very faint from age and she knew they had happened while he was a child. She never said anything about them because she knew it would only embarrass him. He hated the things that had been done to him by his father and those scars were reminders he couldn't escape from.

Grateful that Brennan was in his life, Booth leaned over and kissed her. "You know I hate living in the past. There isn't a lot of good things back there to be happy about, but two of them were Pops and Nana. My Gram was nice too, but she died when I was young, so I didn't know her as long as I did Pops and Nana. They loved me. They were the only ones who loved me until Parker came along and . . . and you and Christine and Tiger. My family is small, but you guys are so important to me. If I didn't have you guys in my life, I'm not so sure I'd be the man I am today. You make me strong or want to be anyway. Pops is gone, but he taught me what love is. He loved me and he only wanted the best for me and I couldn't have asked for a better father than he was. I miss him and Red . . . and Red was a disappointment that's true, but he's just a stranger that I met while investigating a murder. I shouldn't have turned a blind eye because he reminded me of Pops, but we got that straightened out in the end."

"Yes we did." Brennan was glad that her husband was not focusing too much on Red and what that man had done. "Justice was done and you did it with dignity."

A warm smile and a twinkle in his eyes, Booth kissed her once more. "Oh yeah? Well Mr. Dignity is my middle name."

Amused, Brennan laughed at his wiggling eye brows. "Oh yes, Mr. Dignity is definitely your middle name." Standing, Brennan pulled on Booth's hand, pleased he stood up too. "You know, I think you could use a little target practice right now."

A grin suddenly appeared on his face and Booth knew that there might be a little role playing going on in a few minutes. "Well, I am a sniper and I like I told you I definitely don't shoot blanks."

"Yes, we need to let your sniper do its job." Brennan laughed and pulled Booth towards their bedroom. "Perhaps several orgasms might cheer both of us up."

"Several." Booth liked the sound of that. "Well, I think I'm up for the job."

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Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.


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